Why is someone called Scot Irish?

Answer 1

I consider myself Scots-Irish , but from the other way around as the explanations below.

I was born in Scotland but from Irish immigrant grand-parents. I consider myself Scots ( not Scotch , that term is used for products like whiskey etc , Scots is for people ) and have a strong Glasgow accent , however the community and culture I was brought up in was Irish , my Gaelic is Irish and not Scots. I have no conflict within myself regards this and live happily between the cultures. However there are a small minority of Scots who feel I should not be celebrating my Irish roots , or I should ' go back home ' . However they are a small-minded minority and ironically they are the same ones who feel more loyalty to the English Queen than to their own country. Go figure.

The majority of the Scots-Irish moved to certain parts of Scotland during the same mass Immigration that saw millions move around the world, especially to America , due to the Famine in Ireland which killed a million people. The racist element in Scotland , especially in Glasgow sing openly ' The famine is over , why don't you go home ' it seems that as long as we acknowledge our roots we are not welcome , even after many generations. I must stress though that this is a small minority of bigots much as you will find in any country and that the majority of Scots could not care less and are a welcoming people.

The term Scotch-Irish is only what Americans call them. They are, in fact, Scottish people who were moved to the northern part of Ireland in order to force out the Catholics. Soon, however, they moved to the Americas due to religious persecution by the British as well as economic reasons. They were Protestant; Presbyterian rather than Anglican.)

Short Answer:Because they wanted the Anglo-Americans to know that they were of Scottish ethnicity (and presumably Protestant) but admittedly had lived in Ireland before immigrating. Irish Catholics were unpopular and they wanted to 'distance themselves'.

Yes I have heard this silly chant of ,why don't the Irish go home...I suppose the same thing could be asked of the Northern Irish loyalists--why don't they go home--after all King Billy is dead and gone..

However ,why don't they stay and why don't all the Scots(gaels--known as scotia from where the name Scotland derives) come back to Ireland after all that's where they originally hail from..so welcome home..

Answer 2

They are better known as Ulster Scots in the UK. In America there is a tendancy to over emphasise the Irish influence and that has led to the name Scotch-Irish. It actually refers to the Scots who travelled to settle Ulster and eventually moved to the American colonies.

Answer 3

Ireland and Great Britain have had problems for centuries. James I gave land in Ireland to Scottish soldiers. These men were Protestant and loyal to James. Some these Scot families lived in Ireland for generations before moving to Canada or the United States. Davy Crockett and Andrew Jackson had Scot Irish heritage.

Answer 4

I think you may mean Scotch-Irish and they were called that because they were settled in Northern Ireland by the English monarcy with most hailing from Scotland.